Crown Yard

Crown Yard is an external private road providing access to Crown Works, a two-storey purpose-built terrace of small separate ground and first floor workshops, sited within the private road Crown Yard. It is part of The Winkley Estate, a small area of distinctive late Victorian development combining three types of residential accommodation with three small factories, workshops and shops.

Goode Architecture were commissioned to obtain statutory permissions for reinstating of an original boundary wall which had separated the commercial spaces of the yard from the properties fronting onto Temple Street.

We undertook research tracing the changes to the built fabric of the Yard, Works and surrounding buildings, and produced a Heritage Statement to demonstrate understanding of the quality of the built environment in this unique example of an historic Works building and therefore support the proposed reinstatement of the boundary wall in terms of its appropriateness and impact on the significance and character of the conservation area.

The Winkley Estate was an important centre of the East End furniture trade, and a distinctive feature of the development is the close integration of housing, industrial and commercial space in close proximity, creating a 'community in miniature'. The character and historic value of the neighbourhood is recognised in its designation as part of Tower Hamlets’ Old Bethnal Green Road Conservation Area.

The yard provides important outdoor space to support the continuing use of the Works for craft production and creative industries (including a pottery studio, graphic design studio and creative co-working space).

Location  

Bethnal Green, London

Date

2016 - 2017

Client

Crown Works

Stage

Planning